Comply with FG N35,000 provisional wage award, MWUN advises maritime parastatals

By Abiodun OBA

Government parastatals and private operators in the maritime sector have been urged to comply with the N35,000 provisional wage award recently signed by President Bola Tinubu for government workers.

The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) President General, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju who gave the advice said that the union has written all agencies of government and terminals, warning that any agency or company that fails to comply with the directive would face workers unrest.

According to Adeyanju, “The approval was endorsed by all stakeholders and the President has announced it, Federal is N35,000 while State is N25,000.

“The Maritime Workers Union is covered by these provisions because NPA is a federal government agency, the award covers everybody that is working under them, it covers both the private and government agencies.

“We are now telling everyone to fall in line, we have written to all stakeholders, attaching the agreement signed by the government and even the directive signed by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) urging all the affiliates to go and negotiate the award before we go fully into the implementation of a new minimum wage.

“It is an incentive to cushion the hardship that everyone is passing through, so they must look for the money”.

Already, he said that some companies have been complying with the President’s directive. These include; APM Terminals, WACT, OFT Onne and Lekki Deep Seaport

“Some terminal operators have already paid, APMT have paid, in Port Harcourt, WACT have paid, OFT in Onne have paid, even the Lekki Deep Seaport have paid. So, what stops other parastatals from paying?

“It is supposed to be paid for six months before the next negotiation of wages. If anybody fails to pay it, then we would declare trade dispute against them.

“Some are paying it monthly, while some are paying it upfront.

“The Federal Government only assisted the state by giving them that billions. But Federal parastatals that fall under IGR should pay” he advised.

Recall, the N35,000, according to President Tinubu, is to be paid for the next six months to cushion the attendant economic hardships of the fuel subsidy removal.